Little Rock Desegregation- Downtown

Fifty years ago, in January 1963, Little Rock finally set in motion a process that would end segregation in its downtown businesses. Following renewed student sit-ins in November 1962, white businessmen and merchants decided that the time had come to act. A secret Downtown Negotiating Committee of four prominent white businessmen, two Philander Smith students, and two black community representatives, hammered out a timetable for change. On January 1, 1963, lunch counters in downtown Little Rock began to serve black customers on an equal basis. Downtown hotels desegregated their facilities. Drinking fountains and restrooms removed their “Whites Only” signs. In June, movie theaters desegregated. In October, city restaurants desegregated. That same year, Robinson Auditorium, the Arkansas Arts Center, and city parks desegregated. The Arkansas Travelers baseball team played its first black player. I’m John Kirk of the UALR History Department and this has been an Arkansas moment.